Strider

by Olakaan Peliik

Tall Tale III

        Four days. Four days since the assault by a dark colored griffon. Since then, not one inkling of the griffon’s whereabouts. Sure while I would certainly like to of had the griffon brought in but lately, I was realizing that would be harder than normal.

Every hour, we were giving and receiving full detailed reports on duties and posts that occurred outside of the complex. Even trips out of the compound for R&R while off duty had to be cleared by one’s NCO. The entire City was on edge, there has been recent tension between the griffon population and the Guard.

Knight Gaze and I were off duty now, relaxing in our dorm, before we walked down to Caustic Moon. We had already eaten dinner, and I was just going through my mail on my bunk as KG flipped through the pages of a magazine entitled Iron & Clad, a catalog of swords armor, and various weapons.

Standing up and giving his legs a stretch, KG moved over to the window and looked out across the city. “I guess it’s true about what they say about Military Ponies,” he said.

Looking up at him, I asked “They say a lot of things. Which saying you talking about?”

“We are the Sheepdogs: Peaceful and nonviolent until somepony attacks our flock.” He glanced over his shoulder at me. “The Sergeants are really cracking down on all of us, as well as the city.”

“Sergeant Aurora seems frustrated, though. The other Sergeants are giving her Guards different orders every day.” I stated my observation.

“Except us,” KG added, ears flicked back and forth in agitation.

I nodded. “Except us, because we know that Sergeants aren't supposed to give orders to another Sergeant’s guards. It breaks the chain of command.”

Ears laid flat against his head, KG let out an annoyed huff. “I’m gonna go take a shower before we head out.” Grabbing his shower gear, he made his way to the door.

I waved a wing at him as he exited our dorm. “I’ll be here,” I said as I returned to the letters I had received earlier.

Sitting on top were letters from my brothers Atlas and Orion, followed by a letter from my sister Buttercup, and finally one from Snow. I wanted to know how Snow was doing. The other letters could wait As I opened the letter, I got a faint hint of spearmint. Something new Snow is trying maybe? I breathed it in and tried to imagine Snow, seeing her face clearly in my mind as I began to read the letter.

I was rather surprised as I kind of expected a longer letter. But, a short letter is better than no letter, right? Shrugging, I was about to read my brother’s letters when KG came back.

“Hey, you ready to go?” he asked, standing in the doorway, shifting from hoof to hoof.

I dropped the letters on my bunk and hopped off with a spring in my step. “Yeah, let’s go,” I said as I grabbed my bit bag and tucked it under my wing.

We made our way out of the Complex and I noted that the night watch had taken over. Our excursion had already been cleared with Sergeant Aurora yesterday, so the Guards let us through without any trouble. Most of the city had quieted down, but the closer we drew to the Lantern District, the noisier it became. There were still plenty of taxis on the roads slowly moving between the numerous bars, waiting for the drunks to stumble out.

We were only a few minutes from the Caustic Moon, minding our own business when four Griffons showed up and blocked our path. KG instinctively tensed, preparing for a fight, but I put my wing up in front of him to stop him. These Griffons looked angry, but there was nothing in their body language that suggested true hostility, just intimidation.

The one that looked like their leader—a large, dark gray griffon with bloodstone red eyes—spoke. “We want to know why you Guards are constantly stopping us on the street to ask us dumb questions?”

“It’s harassment. We happen to know your Princess wouldn't allow such a thing,” another screeched.

I started to explain, “We are just trying to—”

One in the back interrupted. “Save it, you guards only care about your own kind? Are you always searching for us griffons and assume we did something wrong? We never hear of citywide searches for ponies. Why is that?”

“And like you don’t give us enough grief, now other ponies are trying to push us around, too,” the leader added. “Stores refuse us service, ponies passing in the streets throw trash and yell at us...how come you’re not doing anything about that?!”

“You might want to tell your guard friends to back off us griffons,” the fourth one stated, shoving his face right into mine. I refused to step back but kept my expression neutral. My heart raced, ready to move if need be.

“Yeah,” the leader said before pushing past KG and me.

KG waited for them to be out of earshot before speaking. “With attitudes like that, it’s a wonder why ponies don’t trust them.” His tone was irritated but I knew that was sarcasm.

I put a hoof on his shoulder. “Come on, we’re supposed to be relaxing tonight, not thinking about work.”

We resumed walking into the Lantern District. There were ponies everywhere. Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, bat ponies, and I could have sworn I saw a Zebra somewhere in the crowds. We got into the Caustic Moon without any more incidents with griffons.

The Caustic Moon was in full swing. Live music, full dance floor, three bartenders on duty, gorgeous waitresses everywhere, and plenty of single mares. Although if KG liked both mares and stallions, I guess I’d have to keep an eye out for stallions too.

We sat down at the end of the bar closest the door. KG and I started the night off with some hard ciders. KG kept his eyes focused on his drink and the counter in front of him. I, however, had my eyes scanning the crowd.

KG turned to me, an annoyed expression on his face. “Why are we here again?” he asked, having to raise his voice to talk over the crowd and music.

“You need to loosen up, that's why. And I want to relax.” I patted him on the back and smiled at him.

His ears folded back. “I don’t need to loosen up,” he grumbled and took another swig of his cider. “I need to be studying my manual. I don't know why I let you talk me into this.”

He needed something to look forward to. “Alright, look. If nothing interesting happens in the next hour, we'll go back to the compound. Okay?”

He glared at me for a minute. “Okay, fine. One hour. I'm watching the clock.”

“Alright deal.” I waved down the bartender. She leaned in to listen for a request. “Another cider please.”

While the bartender went to fill out my request, I returned to scanning the crowd. As luck had it, I noticed a thestral mare on the opposite side of the room from us, watching us out of the corner of her eye. Her white coat shimmered in the dim light as her gray mane hung around her in long, flowing rings. Her gray tail slowly swept its way back and forth across the floor, the subtlest hint of interest. What stood out the most were her vibrant red eyes. Eyes that sparkled as if to say that she knew something we didn’t.  This mare might just be the perfect candidate for Knight Gaze. It didn’t hurt that there was nopony else at her end of the bar.

I needed to figure out if she was looking at me or KG. I put a hoof on KG’s shoulder. “I”ll be right back,” I told him.

“Take your time,” was all he said.

I moved through the crowd doing my best to keep an eye on the mare. Her eyes didn't follow me. That was good for KG. Being quiet in here wasn't a problem, but it was quieter on this side of the room. I snuck up behind her and watched for another minute.

She would take a small sip of her drink every once in a while, keeping the corner of her gaze fixed on KG.

I decided to approach her. I quickly sat in the seat beside her. “Hey, there. How are you doing?” I immediately cringed at my cheesy approach.

She barely looked at me. “I’m doing fine,” she said out loud. Her tone said, “Get lost.”

I cleared my throat. “I noticed you looking at my friend over there at the bar.”

She looked at me now. “The handsome brown unicorn stallion sitting on the end is your friend?” She kept glancing between me and KG.

I nodded. “He is. You should go talk to him.” I pointed a hoof at him.

“Hmm. Perhaps.” She gave KG a pondering look. “He doesn't look to be in the mood though.”

“He responds to orders pretty well,” I grinned. “Just give him a few orders and he'll comply.”

She didn’t say anything else. She just sat there weighing her options. I sat there watching her think. Without another word, she stood up and walked over to KG.

I moved to a place where I could listen in. “Hey, there handsome. You new around here?” the mare asked KG in a slightly sultry voice.

The annoyed look KG had put on vanished, replaced by a look of dumbfounded awe. He just nodded dumbly at the mare. He was worse at this than I thought.

The mare was looking at him like he was a piece of candy. “You're much more to look at up close.”

KG was frozen. He had no idea what was going on. I was doing my best to not laugh at him.

“How about this—” the mare leaned in to whisper in KG’s ear. I couldn’t hear what she said.

It must have been something good because even through his fur, KG’s face was as red as an apple. “Okay,” he managed to choke out in a high-pitched voice.

The mare took him by the hoof and started leading him out. KG quickly looked my way for help, but I just used a wing to encourage him to go with her.

Once KG was gone I went back up to the bar and waved down the bartender. “That mare and stallion that just walked out. I'd like to pay for their drinks and mine.”

She nodded and went to collect the receipts. When she came back she had three scraps of paper. “Thirty-nine bits please.”

I fished the bits out of my bit bag along with a tip. I threw them on the counter. “What else is there to do here?”

She thought for a brief moment, “We have a pool table over there.” She pointed to an off corner of the bar.

“Thanks.” She nodded and went back to work. I made my way over to the pool table and watched. “I'll play winner,” I called out to the two bat ponies playing.

They merely nodded and resumed their game. The bat pony stallion was large, and almost midnight in color. The dark blue mare was of average height and weight and had dark red hair.

I watched as one by one the striped and solid balls fell into each pocket. Before long, there were only three balls left. The mare lined up her shot and fired off a strike on the three ball bounced off the eight ball and sent them both into a pocket.

“Ha! Pay up sucker!” she laughed, holding out a hoof.

The stallion grumbled and dropped a fifty-bit piece in her hoof, and then stormed off. I approached her. “Wanna go a round?

“You willing to put some bits on the game?” she smirked.

“What’s the bet?” I asked, taking a pool cue from the wall.

She grinned. “Fifty bits, if you win you keep the hundred.”

I gave her a challenging look. “Rack ‘em.”

She set the table up and I took the break shot. None of the balls went in a pocket. “You take the deciding shot,” I told her.

She nodded and studied the table. She took her first shot on the eleven stripe, which rolled down the table and just barely missed the side pocket. She grunted in frustration.

I was solid colors then. I moved around the table to line up the cue with the thirteen-stripe and the four solid. I slid the cue stick through my hoof a few times to practice and took the shot. The cue struck the thirteen, which hit the four into a corner pocket. “Yes,” I mumbled under my breath.

She and I continued the game until we both had a single ball left until the eight ball. Her fifteen ball and my two-ball were both still in play. I’ll admit that I was getting a bit nervous. She attempted to get her fifteen into a side pocket but it hit the side and glanced off. She let out a curse beneath her breath and nodded to me.

I took a deep breath to center myself and placed my cue stick on the table, lining it up. Perfect shot. I smirked to myself and fired. I knocked my number two ball into a corner, and the eight ball into the very same pocket she just tried to get her’s into.

I felt a rush of pride. I looked at the mare with a smile on my face. “Pay up.”

“You got lucky,” she sneered as she got out the bits and handed them over.

I tucked the bits into my wing. “Maybe. Now if you'll excuse me it's getting late and I really must be going.”

I exited the Caustic Moon with my head held high at my small victory tonight. I had only had two ciders, and that was early in the night. Not nearly enough for me to be even tipsy. I spread out my wings and gave them a good flap to get myself aloft. I flew low over the city streets, passing slowly above the city. I was in no hurry to get back: I wanted to enjoy my night off, breathing in the sights and scents of the Tall Tale nightlife.

I weaved through the buildings as I made my way back. Once I got close I landed and walked the remainder of the distance. As I got close to the gate to the complex, Sergeant Aurora was exiting without her armor. I went to attention.

“Flame Strider.” She gave me an odd look with her eyes. “I trust you had fun. Where is Knight Gaze?”

“Probably playing twister with a mare right about now,” I blurted without thinking about my words, then immediately clapped a hoof over my mouth. “I mean, er—”

Luckily Aurora had a sense of humor. “Well good for him. He needs to loosen up a bit,” she laughed. Once she was done laughing, she looked at me with those eyes again. She looked like she was hungry or something. “Say, would you mind walking me home?”

“Yes, Sergeant.” I fell in line next to her as she started down the road to her apartment.

“Strider, there aren’t any other guards around, we’re not in our armor,” she told me in a stern tone, walking quickly around the corner to a block of apartment buildings. “Please call me by my name, not by my rank when it’s just us.”

“Yes, Serg—” This was gonna be awkward. “Okay, Aurora.”

We walked quietly at that point. I fell a few steps behind and I finally got a look at Aurora’s cutie mark. It was just a haze of various colors. Blues, greens, yellows, and reds. I also had a good look at her in general from here. Fit, lean, and muscular for a unicorn mare. She looked back and caught me staring. I snapped my eyes forward and readied for her to yell at me. Instead, she just smiled and started up some apartment steps.

She worked her magic on the lock to one of the doors. Once it was open she looked at me. “Care to come up?”

“I really shouldn’t. I need to go get some sleep,” I told her, taking a slight step back. Something about this was off.

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, I need help with something up there, and I need a big strong, and handsome stallion to help me.” She opened her eyes wide and pouted.

It was the guilt stare. A trick only mares could do. No stallion in the world could resist it. “I.. Um.. Okay fine.” I started up the stairs with her.

We entered the building and walked up two flights of stairs. Her apartment number four was on the right. She opened the door and allowed me to pass inside. Her apartment was as to be expected from a Guard Sergeant. Cheap furniture, no personal items in sight.  A single bedroom and bathroom, small kitchen.

“Nice place,” I commented. I looked back at her shutting the door and locking it. She was doing the hungry look again and walking toward me. “Um, what was that you needed my help with?” I started, stepping backward.

She spoke slow and soft and wit a sway of her hips began to walk towards me. “I was hoping you could help relieve some knots, a good massage would be wonderful.” She had me backed up against her bedroom door.

Sweat was trickling down my neck and my heart had climbed up to my throat. I was at a loss for words but I tried anyway. “I-I-I um, that sounds... I mean—”

She planted a kiss straight on my lips to shut me up. We sat there for a moment before she opened the bedroom door with her magic and we tumbled inside.

A small amount of light shined through a crack in the curtain and into my eye, waking me up. Remembering that it was my day off, I rolled over to catch some extra rest. Another pony ended up in my hooves when I rolled over. Right then, I remembered everything from last night. I was in Sergeant Aurora’s apartment. In her room. In her bed, right next to her, with my hooves around her.

I must have woken her up. “Damn, you know how to work a mare,” she mumbled as she rolled to look at me. She had a smile on her face. I preferred it to her usual serious scowling.

I chuckled. “You know how to work a stallion.” I retorted. It was true. I was a bit sore in places I was not normally sore.

She slowly hooked a hoof around my neck. “Come here.” She pulled me in for another kiss. I had to admit getting kissed by her was growing on me.

After a minute of making out, I pulled away. “Knight Gaze is gonna be wondering where I am.”

“You’re right.” She rolled out of bed and stood up stretching, a type of yoga, a sight I could watch for a little bit longer. “If we want to keep doing this we need to be smart about it.”

Regulations prevent relationships like this and were grounds for demotions or even dismissal, but it’s not like they never happen. “You mean to keep this a secret?” I was slightly confused. “Aren’t you the pony who said I’d be leaving in six months?”

“That’s exactly why this is perfect.” She stopped stretching and looked at me. “You and I can keep up a side relationship in addition to our primary working relationship while you're here. Then in six months, you leave and I likely never hear from you again.”

“That’s cold, ma’am,” I stated.

She trotted out into her living room. “Well, what's wrong with a little fun?”

I got out of the bed and followed. “So why me?”

She laughed as she started to get out cereal with her magic. “You're just not irritating to look at like the rest of the Guards. You’re also easier to talk to. And apparently, good in bed.”

“I see.” I sat down at the small table she had at the end of her kitchen. Using the end of my wing I was able to utilize the spoon proper by Pegasus standards.

We ate in silence for a few moments until the sound of chewing could no longer cover up the awkwardness. “So what do we talk about?” I finally asked.

“Work. What else?” She stated before her face lit up. “Oh wait, what did the mare look like? The one Knight Gaze went with last night?”

“I gotta say that she was attractive. Through some clever words, I got her to take KG off my hooves for the night. Then I got to play some pool.”

“What did you do after that?” she asked. I just looked at her until she got it. “Oh, right. Me.”

We laughed and talked as we ate our cereal. Once we finished our breakfast I helped clean the bowls. We shared a hot shower to clean off all the sweat from the night off, along with other smells. I left first, flying the long way around to the complex, ensuring she got there first. I approached the gate and the Guards there let me in without a fuss.

I made my way up to the dorm I shared. I opened the door and Knight Gaze was sitting on his bed reading that manual of his. He didn’t bother looking up at me. “Where were you?” he asked.

“I was with a mare at breakfast,” I answered.

He lowered his book slightly to peer over it. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” I waited a few moments. “So how was your night?” I asked, trying to tease him.

“It was fine,” KG said pulling the book up.

I was holding back laughing as best I could. “Did she make you breakfast?”

“Shut up!” he yelled at me, his cheeks darkening. I couldn’t hold it back anymore I lost it. Tears ran from my eyes as I howled with laughter.

“It’s not funny!” KG protested, looking like he was going to literally throw the book at me.

“Dude, you're redder than a tomato,” I got out between laughter. Once I calmed myself down, caught my breath and got a grip, I continued. “You gonna see her again?”

He looked at his manual again. “Maybe,” he said quickly.

“If you do, make sure she knows what she’s getting into,” I told him.

“I’ll inform her,” KG said in a monotone, refusing to look up.

I shook my head and crawled into my bed for extra sleep since I didn’t really sleep last night. I smiled as I closed my eyes: turns out things weren’t so bad in Tall Tale after all.